Dimension 4300 Video Card Upgrade

I have a Dimension 4300 with a P4 1.6 GHZ, and 1024mb of memory. I want to upgrade my current video card (NVidia Geforce 2) to something much better. What's the best video card I could use with this machine? I was interested in the Radeon 9800 Pro, but I don't know if this is possible with my machine. I need to upgrade for gaming purposes (SW Galaxies, and the upcoming SW Battlefronts)

The ATI Radeon 9600xt would be a good bet. About $200.00. I have an ATI Radeon 8500 in my 4300 currently. But I just put a AIW 9600xt from Newegg in my gaming computer. Really like it. If your an Nvidia fan, the MSI 5900, at about $180.00 would be my next choice. The ATI gives you a lettle better picture in my opinion.

The 9800 Radeon should work in the 4300, but check tehe AGP voltage requirements of the 9800 video card. The 4300 Mobo has a 1.5 volt AGP slot. Also you might need an available Molex connector for the 9800, not sure, but again check. The 9600 XT just drops right in.

Well....I definitely want to get my money's worth. If it's a between the 9600xt and spending a few more bucks for the 9800 pro, I'd rather get the better card. I think the dimension 4300 has a 4x 1.5 volt AGP slot, which is within the parameters of the 9800 specs. My only question is...do I need to worry about cooling this card, and if so what does that entail?

You guys have been a great help so far and I just want to express my appreciation!!

I just discovered that the 9800pro requires a 300 watt power supply to operate. The dimension 4300 has a 250 watt power supply. So in order for me to use the 9800pro, I'm thinking I need to upgrade to a higher voltage output power supply, not to mention my aforementioned concerns with cooling the card and god knows what else. This is turning into quite the upgrade project (not to mention costly for a PC thats 3 yrs old!). I dunno. It would seem that the 9600xt like Vince suggested would be the way to go. This is my first venture into the video card realm, and my knowledge is pretty limited right now. If anyone has any further suggestions it's greatly appreciated, and again I want to thank everyone who responded to my inquiries.

You don't need a power supply upgrade. Dell's 250 watt power supply is really like a 345 watt (they don't rate them by peak power like the rest of the industry does). According to information on here, it will work with anything up to an including a Geforce 6800GT or Radeon x800 Pro.

Ok...so I want to go with the 9800 Pro. Do I need to worry about cooling this card with a fan or anything? I don't plan to do any overclocking or anything. Second, is there a huge difference in performance in the 128mb card vs. the 256mb card?

Ok...so I want to go with the 9800 Pro. Do I need to worry about cooling this card with a fan or anything?

I don't think so. The new Dimension 8400 gives you a warning when you boot the system if you install video cards that draw more than a certain amount of power without adding in a $13 Dell specific case fan, but I couldn't find anything like that in the 4300's manual. Just leave some empty spaces between the video card and any PCI add-in cards you might have.

Second, is there a huge difference in performance in the 128mb card vs. the 256mb card?

Nope, there's no real performance difference between the 128MB or 256MB cards. You do want to make sure you're getting a card with a 256-bit memory interface though. If you get one with a 128-bit interface, it will perform more like a Radeon 9600.